Soft drink beverage dispensers, also known as soft drink fountains, mix soft drink concentrate, such as syrup, with a diluent, such as soda water. The typical soft drink fountain is capable of dispensing several different beverages or beverage flavors, either through a common nozzle assembly or through separate dispensing taps. In either case, the fountain draws in syrup from one or more syrup sources.
The syrup may be provided to a fountain customer in a number of different formats. Conventional methods include delivering the syrup in a disposable five (5) gallon "bag in box" ("BIB") container or in a reusable five gallon tank. The bag in box container or the reusable tank provides the syrup to the fountain by a flexible hose or other types of connectors. Typically, a third party distributor delivers the syrup container to a customer while also delivering food items and condiments.
Another known method is to use refillable syrup receptacles located near the fountains. High volume customers may install bulk syrup receptacles of about 75 gallons or more to reduce the frequency of changing the syrup containers. These receptacles may be 75 gallon stainless steel pressure tanks. The receptacles are periodically filled via a tanker truck of some sort or by similar types of delivery means in 75 gallon increments. Such high volume customers may have several receptacles on the premises to insure a steady supply of syrup. Typically, there are two (2) receptacles per type or flavor of syrup at an outlet.
One drawback with known syrup receptacle designs is that the receptacles generally must be washed out and cleaned before each refilling. This cleaning process can be time consuming and may result in unacceptable down time for the customer. One or more fountain dispensers may be unavailable while the receptacles are being cleaned and filled. Further, because the customer may not want to have the receptacles cleaned at busy times of the day, delivery times and schedules may be complicated to arrange.
Another drawback is that the syrup receptacles may be inadvertently filled with the wrong type or flavor of syrup. Alternatively, the hoses running between the fountain and the receptacles may be inadvertently hooked up in the wrong order. In either case, the fountain may dispense the wrong type of beverage. Although the substitution of certain beverages may be readily apparent, i.e., a clear beverage for a dark colored beverage, other substitutions would not be as readily apparent to the customer.
Other drawbacks include the fact that known bulk syrup receptacles are generally dedicated to one type or flavor of syrup to ensure consistent taste. A customer therefore may not be able to vary easily the types of beverages offered. The receptacles are also costly to install and may take up more space than the same volume of BIB containers.
What is needed, therefore, is a simplified bulk syrup delivery, storage, and dispensing system that avoids the need for cleaning the syrup receptacles after each use, that avoids the down time common in the use of such syrup receptacles, and that prevents the inadvertent substitution of beverages. These goals must be accomplished in a reliable and low cost manner.